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12/16/2006Meijer not ready to drop suitACME — A representative of Meijer Inc. said the retailer won't jump at the Acme Township Board's offer to roll back some of the conditions attached to plans for a new super store along M-72. The board this week approved a revised special-use permit that eliminated some of the conditions it attached to the project when it was approved, including limited store hours and requirements for a brick facade on the building. The conditions prompted a lawsuit against the township by the Grand Rapids-based retailer, and a Meijer official said Friday the company is prepared to let the case run its course. "The litigation is still pending,” said Stacie Behler, Meijer's vice president of corporate communications. "The actions of the board over the past couple of days don't change the need for a final resolution from the court.” A hearing in the case was held in late October in front of Circuit Judge Philip Rodgers, who said he planned to issue a ruling by the end of the year. Meijer wants to build a 232,000-plus-square-foot grocery and general merchandise store and a gas/convenience store plus additional retail space at the intersection of M-72 and Lautner Road. The plans were first proposed in January 2005, and township planners recommended approval of the plans late last year before the board added the additional restrictions last spring. Behler said the township's revised special-use permit still doesn't give the company a green light to start construction. "What the board did doesn't get us to a point where we can build a store,” she said. Township officials said the revised permit is an attempt to resolve the pending litigation and allow the board to move on to other issues. Critics of the board said it's an attempt to stave off a recall drive launched in part over the board's handling of the Meijer issue. See related story:
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